The head of a school in Russia has quit after becoming embroiled in scandal when one of the teachers did this belly dance – deemed “inappropriate” – in front of schoolchildren as young as seven.

This footage was shot at the 76 school in Khabarovsk, the capital city of the Khabarovsk Krai region in south-eastern Russia, not far from the Chinese border, on 1st September.

The dance was carried out on the first day of kids returning back to school after the summer holidays which is known as the “knowledge Day” and often celebrated with dance and music.

The footage shows a young female teacher performing the belly dance in front of a large group of young schoolchildren. After it was shared online, the Regional Office of Education began investigating the school, after deeming the performance to be “inappropriate”.

They were particularly outraged it was performed in front of kids as young as seven years old, and made it clear at the time that they regarded the headteacher as responsible for allowing it to go ahead.

Some reportedly commented that it was more like something you would see in a striptease club than a school’s day of knowledge.

The teacher who did the dance, named as Yulia Marchenko in local reports, apologised to viewers in a second video published the following day, on 2nd September, adding that she had sought only to “bring joy to the audience”.

But after the authorities began to investigate, Tatiana Strokova, the head of the school, decided to resign.

The authorities have said that they have not yet accepted her application to resign and that a decision will be made after they have met with the parents of the schoolchildren.

Belly dancing has become increasingly popular in Russia where it has been adapted to local styles and traditions.

The so-called Russian Oriental Belly Dance that has now been created combines Turkish and Egyptian belly dance styles with traditional Russian ballet dancing.