Turning the Tables on Analysing Turns – Validation of Wearable Sensors in Ballet

_Introduction: _Wearable technology continues to be a growing area of interest to sports scientists and researchers. At the same time, wearable technology appears to have had little impact on the performing arts, specifically dance and classical ballet (ballet). Ballet dancers have the athletic capabilities of sportspeople, with the physical demands and performance levels of their occupation often as high as elite sports. Therefore, coupled with the gap in the literature about wearable technology, specifically wearable sensors, in ballet, there exists a need to determine whether wearable technology can be applied in the performing arts environment. _Aim: _The aim of this research was to validate and determine the levels of agreement in timing between a wearable sensor and three-dimensional motion capture camera system when dancers perform a pirouette en dehors from 4th position. _Methods: _Nine dancers from the Australian Ballet School participated in the study. Each participant performed nine pirouettes in total: three single, three double, and three triple pirouettes en dehors from 4th position. The validation consisted of a timing comparison between a three-dimensional motion capture system, and a wearable sensor. This was carried out using a Will Hopkins’ Typical Error of the Estimate test. _Results: _Results indicated trivial error between the two systems, with a near-perfect correlation (r = 0.99996), demonstrating the feasibility of wearable sensors for timing analysis of pirouettes. The narrow confidence limits further supported the high precision of the wearable sensor technology. _Conclusions: _The results of the validation study show that wearable sensors are a valid technology for the timing analysis of pirouettes when compared to the gold standard. At this point, the data indicates that wearable sensors may be an effective tool to assist in the coaching and development of pirouettes in ballet, although further research is recommended.