began his pre-professional training at age 12 with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, then at age 15, he subsequently transitioned his studies to the San Francisco Ballet School. Following his training, Hilpert joined the KUNST-STOFF dance company where he danced on multiple international tours. Ever in the pursuit of more knowledge, Hilpert decided to deepen his understanding of contemporary movement after receiving an invitation to study as a guest at the Palucca Hochschule für Tanz in Dresden, Germany. While at school in Dresden, he was scouted by a guest teacher to join the Saarländisches Staatstheater. During his time with the company, he had the pleasure of dancing works by acclaimed dance makers such as Stijn Celis, Marguerite Donlon, Bernard Baumgarten, and Fernando Hernando, among others, as well as creating a brand new work himself. After gaining this new perspective on dance, movement, and art-making, Hilpert returned to the KUNST-STOFF dance company as an Artistic Contributor where he collaborated on creating several works with the company’s Artistic Director, Yannis Adoniou. In addition to this collaboration, he had the opportunity to create multiple works on his own. Following the conclusion of his second stint with KUNST-STOFF, Hilpert accepted an invitation to join the Budapest Dance Theatre. In Budapest, he enjoyed performing various works by respected choreographers such as Jiří Pokorný, Rasa Hammadi, Béla Földi, and Alexandra Sághy.