Аннотация
The article examines historical and social dance as a distinctive phenomenon of dance culture that reflects the transformation of forms of social interaction, norms of bodily behavior, and aesthetic ideals within European and post-Soviet cultural traditions. Particular attention is given to the contemporary interpretations of historical and social dance that have emerged in the early twenty-first century within the cultural space of Kazakhstan.The aim of the study is to conduct an art-historical analysis of the interpretation of historical and social dance in contemporary national society of Kazakhstan in the context of the cross-cultural interaction between the ballroom tradition and national culture.The methodological framework of the study is based on historical-cultural and art-historical analysis, the comparative method, and an interdisciplinary approach that allows dance to be examined as an artistic form closely connected with social etiquette, performance space, and bodily communication. The study traces the major trajectories in the formation of ballroom and social dance in Europe, with particular attention to their reconfiguration under Soviet cultural conditions and the emergence of diverse contemporary practices. The analysis shows that historical and social dance does not lose its artistic or socio-cultural relevance. Rather, it continuously redefines its functions in response to shifting social contexts. It is shown that contemporary ballroom events in Kazakhstan – graduation, military, medical, and civic balls – function as forms of actualization of ballroom tradition, while conceptual practices of the early twenty-first century, including social dance formats, indicate a reinterpretation of everyday movement as an object of artistic reflection. In conclusion, historical and social dance is understood as a cultural process in which inherited forms and later transformations remain in active interaction. The practical value of this study lies in its potential application to further art-historical studies of dance culture, as well as for evaluating modern ways of representing historical dance heritage within contemporary cultural contexts.