In my community work, one of my top priorities has been building bridges among Americans, Russians and Russian-Americans, particularly in business and the arts. In these activities, and in my world travels, I’m fascinated by both the commonalities and the differences among people from different cultures.

In early March, I did business for the first time in Italy. As part of Russian Pointe’s entrance into the European market, we attended Danza in Fiera, a dance trade show in Florence.

This was my first Italian business trip, but my fifth visit to Florence, a city that I absolutely love for the beauty of its arts, culture and history.

On three of my previous visits, I was assisting my mother, Elena Townsend Efimova, who owns Talking Colors Art Studio and is head of the art department at Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor. Along with her students, I spent my time painting and drawing (including sitting on the steps of the Uffizi, and sitting on the floor of the Accademia sketching Michelangelo’s “David”). For my fourth visit to Florence, I took an amazing cross-country bicycle tour with Ciclismo Classico.

On this trip, I didn’t have much time to sightsee (although I did make time for the fabulous Ferragamo Museum and some exquisite dining!), but Danza in Fiera was an artistic and cultural experience in itself. The trade show was held in a convention center built into a stunning historic castle in the middle of the city, Fortezza da Basso, and the ambience of Florence was everywhere – in the building, the people and even the most everyday transactions.

My sales team and I met retailers from Italy and other European countries. Working with non-English speakers, we rediscovered the universal language of dance, and what we had in common – the challenges and rewards of fitting dancers into pointe shoes – defied any language barrier. Many of the retailers were quite familiar with Russian Pointe and already looking forward to greater European availability, which led to even more common ground as we showed our products.

There were also areas of difference. Business interactions seemed to be both more formal and more personal. In the U.S., we often dress quite casually for many business activities, whereas most people at Danza in Fiera were very elegantly dressed. Both ways have merit – I love fashion and enjoyed seeing everyone’s stunning outfits, but I also see the value of casual comfort, especially when you’re spending hours walking around a trade show!

In the U.S., our idea of professionalism often involves putting aside our more personal, emotional selves. In Florence, our interactions included more conversation, as well as a stronger sense of emotional response to both the business relationship and the products we were discussing.

Is one way of doing business better than another? I don’t think so. In my opinion, we all have so much to learn from one another. As individuals, we each conduct business and other relationships in our own unique ways. As cultures, we share certain traits that may seem surprising to people from other backgrounds.

To me, the ideal is to find a common language – like we did in Florence – while also enjoying and learning from what we don’t have in common. This openness seems to be the most likely way for us each to achieve maximal growth.

Ciao, Firenze!