Max began his ballet training in Tokyo, Japan, at the Haruyama Academy of Ballet and the Yamaji Ballet School. At age 11 he moved to Colorado where he continued his training at the Boulder Ballet School. At age 16 he was invited to San Francisco Ballet as a trainee, where he studied for two years under Jean-Yves Esquerre, Jorge Esquivel and Parrish Maynard. His roles at SFB included Nicolas Blanc's In Search Of..., the lead "Jeanie" boy in John Neumeier's Yondering and Russian in Helgi Tomasson's Nutcracker. Before joining North Carolina Dance Theatre, he danced with American Repertory Ballet, performing numerous principal roles. Max won the Denver Ballet Guild's Young Dancer's Competition from 2002 to 2005 and was awarded the Florence Ruston Award for Most Outstanding Dancer in 2005.
