Parents hire cage dancers for school after-ball

Sexily dressed professional cage dancers were hired for a parent-supervised function held after Auckland Grammar School's ball.

The dancers were dressed in "leotard-ish" things, said one parent who likened it to putting on a strip show for under-18s.

Vanessa Alexander, whose daughter from St Cuthbert's College attended the school's ball and after-ball, was astounded to find out the details from another parent several weeks after the event, which was held on August 1.

Students who were there confirmed that skimpily dressed women had been dancing in cages. Some said they thought it was "strange" but were not worried about what they saw. Ms Alexander on the other hand said she was "outraged" that caged dancers were associated with a party for 16, 17 and 18-year-olds.

"It is essentially a male sex-show fantasy. It's insane, it's completely insane," she said.

She was most concerned that the students were not fazed, which she said indicated that it had become normal for a parent to send their teenager to a "toned-down version of Showgirls".

But parents she had spoken to were also uncomfortable about the professional cage dancers and she said she would never have allowed her daughter to go if she had known they would be there.

"There's a feeling that it's safe because it's organised by parents," she said.

The after-ball function was organised by a group of school prefects with their parents and was to have nothing to do with the school. It was held in a warehouse facility in South Auckland.

Head prefect Sam Burridge said the boys had chosen to have cage dancers to reflect the "Vegas" theme of the school ball. His father Scott Burridge, one of the parents involved, said it was a "private function organised by a group of parents, completely independent from the school" and would not comment any further.

Grammar headmaster John Morris responded to questions via email: "There is no such thing as a Grammar after-ball. The school puts on a ball for its Form 7 students that was held at Eden Park between 7.30 and 12 midnight several weeks ago. It was an superb evening attended by 750 young men and women and over 70 staff and their partners. End of story."

The principal of St Cuthbert's College, Lynda Reid, said she had not heard anything but good feedback about the night.

Adult entertainment businesses in Auckland did not know who might have supplied the dancers but it was suggested that a professional could command $150 an hour.

At an event with under-18s the dancers would have been required to wear at least a bikini.