It was also his mother-in-law’s—Martina Charolet’s—first time seeing a live performance.

“My family’s been wanting to come for years,” Verdun said.

“It was a lot of really beautiful dance routines. And it was nice to be able to watch the performances and to learn about how Chinese dancing has influenced other dances in gymnastics and culture. It was really interesting,” Verdun said.

“It takes you through a different timeline, [learn about] Chinese culture, and it kind of teaches you about things that I wasn’t aware of before. And in that way, it was unique,” he said. “It was very educational. It was nice to see Chinese culture displayed in that way.”

He supported the dance company’s efforts in preserving Chinese culture.

“I think it’s fantastic. Any opportunity to be able to relive our past and to preserve our past, I think is really important. I think anything that really preserves any type of history, especially an ancient culture like China’s, is a good thing to have out there,” he said.

Verdun also expressed how the show gave him a sense of peace and tranquility.

“It’s got peacefulness to it. As you watch it, you feel more and more calm,” he said. “It was beautifully performed and it was very tranquil. So we'll all walk away with a very strong sense of tranquility.”

Verdun was struck by the elaborate use of the backdrop that also transports the performance to different scenes and dimensions.

“It’s really breathtaking to see how they’ve been able to recreate these displays on the stage where [they] recreate the clouds and the Heavens. It was a lot more than I was expecting,” he said.