In a sure sign the Knights captain is not planning on leaving Newcastle any time soon, he and fiance Kristin Scott are about to invest in the city with the opening of their new dance/fitness studio, Barre Effect, in Hunter Street, Newcastle West.

Pearce will be very much the silent partner in the enterprise with Kristin, a former professional dancer who teaches dance at Hunter School of Performing Arts, the driving force behind the new business.

"I'm really excited," she said. "There are a lot of barre studios in bigger cities like Sydney and Melbourne but when I came to Newcastle, there wasn't a lot around here.

"It's definitely a unique workout - it's a fusion of ballet and pilates strengthening exercises with some yoga stretching and lengthening thrown in.

"I'm a dancer myself so I love barre and I'm really hoping people in Newcastle do as well. It's female-dominated but men can absolutely do it. I've roped Mitch in a few times."

Kristin, a Wollongong girl, has been dancing since she was 10. "I've done full-time classical ballet training and contemporary. I've worked as a professional dancer both here and overseas and I went to uni after that to study to be a high school teacher doing dance and legal studies," she said. "But the studio is my focus now."

The couple, who will tie the knot in Byron Bay on December 29, will launch the new business on October 31 with the first classes to kick off on November 2.

People can start booking in now by going to www.barreeffect.com.au or follow barre.effect on Instagram.

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