The barong dance is really a full hour drama with dance, comedy, men in a trance, exciting monsters, and huge religious importance to the Balinese people. The village of Guwan created a new site and program for this drama. They have created a handsome Balinese style pavilion, complete with its temple gate for the characters to enter and leave from. The seating is comfortable and abundant. This was an outstanding production. The Gamelan orchestra played wonderfully throughout. Several of the musicians invited us over to try out their instruments and talk to them before the performance began, which was lots of fun and felt very welcoming. The costumes were nothing short of spectacular, all new, and in very good shape. Though this dance drama portrays the battle between good and evil, there is lots of slapstick comedy thrown in. Even if you don’t speak Bolognese, it’s pretty clear what’s going on. The humor makes the show particularly accessible to families with children. It all takes place over about an hour and 15 minutes and every moment of it is filled with activity, dancing and the epic clash between the good Barong, and the evil Rangda, The antics of monkey and boar, and a whole cast of dancers, characters and animals make it lively. The whole village has gotten on board with this production. They’ve created a venue, play the parts in the drama itself, and or play in the orchestra. Because it is new, there were very few people in the audience, which was most disappointing. I have seen many Barong dances in my years in Bali. This was as good as any of them and better than many. I certainly hope that guides, hotels and travelers will patronize this new production. It is absolutely worth it. It happens in the morning at 9:30 and so by 10:45, you are free to go about your tourist activities. The performers were happy to talk to people afterwards, to show their costumes and instruments and interact with their guests. We felt very special throughout. This Barong dance is a winner!!!