Rui Horta was born in Lisbon, where he began to dance at age 17 with the Ballet Gulbenkian.  He later lived in New York for several years, completing his dance training in that city.  Between '84 and '87, he founded and directed the Companhia de Dança da Lisboa, one of the most important companies in the development of new Portuguese dance. Later, with the support of the Fundação Gulbenkian's Serviço Acarte, he created his own company and began presenting his work in Europe.  Between '91 and '98 he was invited to create and direct S.O.A.P. Dance Theatre Frankfurt, the resident company at Kunstlerhaus Mousonturm, and he created various pieces that toured all over the world in venues including:   Hebel Theater in Berlín, Maison de la Dance in Lyonn, Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, and The Joyce Theater in New York, as well as taking part in the Tokyo International Festival,  Kit-Copenhagen European Cultural Capital 96, and many more. In June '92, Rui Horta won the first prize in the Reencontres Chorégraphiques Internationales de Bagnolet, as well as the Bony Bird Award. Rui also created works for other companies, including:  Endança, Ballet Cullberg, Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Tanzwerk (Ópera Nümberg), Nederlands Dance Theater II and  Ballet National de Marseille. He was invited by the Goethe Institute to work on choreographic projects in Tokyo, Budapest, Gent, Madrid and Moscow.  In '96, he premiered the opera Rake's Progress for the Basel Opera, and the following year he obtained the German Producers Prize for Choreography in Germenay.  In '99 he created a new piece for his own company, which was resident at the Muffathalle Theatre in Munich, and another for the Nederlands Dans Theatre II.  Between '97 and '00, he created various pieces for Ballet Gulbenkian.  In the '00-'01 season, Rui Horta returned to Portugal, where he set up a Choreographic Centre in Mentemor-o-Novo.  In '01 he created PIXEL, which was awarded the ACARTE prize. In '01, he made the short film RUGAS.  In '02, he created the piece LP.  In '03, he created works for the English companies Phoenix Dance Theater, Random Dance and the Scottish Dance Theatre.  He also staged a performance for the French nouveau circus company Les Arts Sauts.  As artstic director of the Montemor-o-Novo Choreographic Centre, he curated Proyecto COLINA - Collaboration in Arts in 2003, and was awarded the 2004 Almada prize by the Instituto das Artes / Ministério da Cultura.