Henrietta Horn initially studied elementary dance at the Sports University of Cologne before completing a stage dance degree at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen – then still known as "Folkwang Hochschule". From 1999 to 2008, she co-directed the Folkwang Dance Studio with Pina Bausch and received the "Artist Award of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia for Choreography / Contemporary Dance".
While her humorous dance theater piece "Auftaucher" (2001) has long been considered a classic of the genre – and impressively confirms this status with each new production – Horn has consistently worked purposefully with live musicians, but especially with technicians, to explore new artistic paths in the connection with computer graphics, lighting technology, and the direct interaction between scenic means.
In addition, Henrietta Horn has been advocating since 2016 for the preservation of the dance heritage, particularly the works of the pioneering expressionist dance icon Mary Wigman. "I don't know if I like the word tradition. It sounds so set in stone," says Horn, preferring to speak of "heritage".
At the initiative of Patricia Stöckemann, who managed the Wigman Archive in Cologne and Berlin for a long time and led the Dance Company Theater Osnabrück until 2021, Horn took over the reconstruction of the choreography of "Le sacre du printemps" in 2016, which Wigman created in 1957. Horn had to re-choreograph large parts herself due to the poor documentation. Following this, there were further Wigman adaptations with "Die Feier" and "Danse macabre".
"It is important to bring these pieces back from the archives to the stage in order to engage with them," Horn is convinced. At the same time as Horn's engagement with the dance heritage, the choreographer is extraordinarily creative and experimental both as a lecturer at the Folkwang University and in her new creations. Often, she herself appears as a dancer and performer on stage, but also works intensively on productions with students or young people.
Henritta Horn consistently succeeds in giving contemporary dance new impulses, making her one of the most important choreographers in NRW and beyond.
