Jason Hortin began studying dance in Olympia, Washington, with Debbi Waits Halfhill. Hortin continued his studies at university, earning a BFA in dance from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and an MFA in dance from the University of Arizona (UA). While at UNLV, Hortin performed with Moving People Dance Theatre, performing works by Gail Gilbert, Robert Moses, and Ronn Stewart. He also worked with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company on Hawkins' "Black Lake" and Lucia Dlugoszewski's "Radical Ardent."

After graduating from UNLV, Hortin danced for two seasons with River North Dance Chicago from 2005 to 2007. During that time, Hortin performed works by Frank Chavez, Lynn Taylor-Corbett, Lauri Stallings, Harrison McEldowny, Daniel Ezralow, Randy Duncan, Kevin Iega Jeff, and Julia Rhoads.

Following River North, Hortin danced with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) for ten years from 2007 to 2017. With HSDC, he toured and performed in over 60 masterworks, including choreography by Lou Conte, Jiri Kylian, Crystal Pite, William Forsythe, Kyle Abraham, Mats Ek, Sharon Eyal, Ohad Naharin, Nacho Duato, Twyla Tharp, and many others. As a member of HSDC, Hortin had the privilege to be a part of DanceMotion USA, traveling to northern Africa in 2013 as an American emissary sponsored by the State Department.

Hortin has created works for HSDC, Bolles High School, Extensions Dance Company, Snowy Range Dance Festival, UNLV, and the University of Arizona. In addition to teaching and creating dance works, Hortin is a repetiteur for Penny Saunders, Frank Chaves, and Robyn Mineko Williams, setting various works at universities and dance companies throughout the United States.