Theresa May filmed dancing with South African schoolchildren

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Theresa May has been filmed dancing with schoolchildren in Cape Town on the first day of her visit to Africa – a trip she hopes will boost trade ties ahead of Brexit.

The South African government posted a video on Twitter showing the prime minister being welcomed by students dancing and singing at Mkhize Senior Secondary school.

In the footage, Ms May is seen shuffling left and right and smiling at the pupils before being led towards the school building by officials.

Ms May's 'Maybot' dancing divided judgements on social media.

"I’m here for all the May dancing. Incredible," one Twitter user wrote.

However, one rather less kind critic commented: "Theresa May dances like she’s had her freedom of movement surgically removed."

The prime minister’s moves came ahead of a speech in Cape Town in which she promised to use the UK’s aid budget to help private British companies invest more in Africa than competitors from any other country.

Ms May said she wants investment levels from UK firms into projects on the continent to outstrip those from the US and France by 2022.

But her commitment to deploy aid money to “support the private sector to take root and grow”, will likely be questioned by charities and NGOs already concerned with the government’s approach.

Ms May embarked on her three-day visit to South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya with ministers and business people on Monday, promising to transform Britain’s relations with the nations as it tries to carve out a post-Brexit role in the world.