David Parsons Dance, one of America's most acclaimed contemporary dance ensembles, performed in Russia for the first time April 22-23 under the auspices of Moscow's Theater of Nations. The company's highly anticipated visit was met with sold-out performances and universal critical acclaim. David Parson's tour-de-force signature work, Caught, which uses stroboscopic light to give the appearance of a dancer flying above the stage, had the Russian audience gasping and cheering in astonishment. David Parsons also conducted a master class for a group of professional dancers from several Moscow ensembles, including the Bolshoi Ballet. Contemporary dance is still in a nascent phase of development in Russia, but there is a clear hunger for performances by American ensembles, particularly among the younger Russians (many of them dancers) who flocked to the Pushkin Theater to see Parsons Dance. The company's visit, which was made possible through support provided by the Trust for Mutual Understanding in New York and U.S. Embassy Moscow, was one of our most successful cultural diplomacy events this year.