不太讀書的書生回應提到舞踏讓他想起他在東京和京都觀賞到的歌舞伎演出，「如果你大概知道故事的內容，它（歌舞伎演出）可以是很有趣的；否則，它將會考驗你的耐心。」我也非常喜歡歌舞伎，我認為歌舞伎是非常精緻的表演。我可以看出它和舞踏之間有些許的相似點，像是白妝和動作。歌舞伎至今已經發展出一系列既定的舞蹈形式 (手勢和動作)、故事、音樂和劇場安排 (舞台和服裝)。然而，以上這些既定元素正是舞踏所要挑戰和擺脫的，舞踏將傳統的演出轉換成較概念式的表演。譬如說，觀眾不容易在舞踏中期待一個完整的故事發展。

我在Youtube找到坂東玉三郎的歌舞伎演出：「鷺娘」，其中多虧有旁白（當然旁白並不是演出的一部份），讓我這個不懂日文的觀賞者可以比較清楚整個表演的脈絡。

chayikid replied that Butoh reminded him of Kabuki, which he experienced in Tokyo and Kyoto. He mentioned that in a Kabuki performance, "If you have a rough idea about the storyline, it can be quite interesting; otherwise, it’s a test of your patience…". I like Kabuki, too. It is one of the most delicate performances! I can see the similarities between Butoh and Kabuki, such as the white face and the motion. Kabuki has developed a series of set dance styles(gestures), stories, music, and theatrical settings (stage and costume). The concept in the performance of Butoh, however, is to unfetter these set elements and transform the performance into a more conceptual level, which is hard to follow if what the audience expects is a store.

I've found a Kabuki performance on Youtube: Tamasaburo's Sagi Musume. Thanks for the narration, of course which is not part of the performance, a non-Japanese-speaking person like myself can understand the performance better.