Leader comment: Theresa May gets her groove on for Britain

Many of us have been there. That moment when you are dragged up onto the dance floor by people who smile but refuse to take no for an answer. The usually lacklustre performance that follows is normally witnessed by a fairly small number of people.

Theresa May dances with children during a visit to a school in Cape Town (Picture: AP)

So spare a thought for Theresa ‘the Maybot’ May, who found herself in a similar situation on a visit to a school in Cape Town, South Africa, in front of the TV cameras.

A display of dancing by the children prompted other dignitaries to join in, leaving the Prime Minister with a choice: remain standing and seem aloof (not a great image when you’re hoping to make people like you for trade reasons) or get your groove on. She chose the latter and was as wooden as you might expect.

But, to be fair, so were the rest of the adults, possibly suffering from the contrast with the kids, who had almost certainly been practising.

And May did seem to start to warm to the task. When she smiled at the children, her eyes managed to join in.

The real business of the trip is taking place behind closed doors, but sometimes diplomacy can be a simple thing.