India's Best Dancer Season 5 has found its winner. Ritesh Pal of Raipur along with choreographer Prateek Utekar won the title of the show. In the grand finale, Ritesh lifted the winner's trophy, leaving the other finalists behind on the basis of his excellent and continuously improving performance.
This victory is also special for Ritesh because he did not limit himself to just one dance style throughout the season. The theme of the show was 'India Wala Dance', in which the contestants had to go out of their comfort zone and try different dance forms. Ritesh accepted this challenge and showed his versatility.
Who is Ritesh Pal?
Ritesh Pal is a 19 year old dancer from Raipur. Before coming to the show, he had also worked as a barber. His passion for dance brought him to the stage of India's Best Dancer.
His choreographer Prateek Utekar also played a big role in Ritesh's dance journey. Both of them have a background in contemporary dance, but the theme of India Wala Dance challenged them to explore different dance forms. During this period, Ritesh continuously made changes and experiments in his performance.
Ritesh's consistency was also seen throughout the season. He won the Battle Trophy thrice in the show and maintained his position till the finals.
Then came the grand finale, where Ritesh and Prateek competed against finalists like Anshika Dhara, Geetanjali Marwah, Prathamesh Mane and Deepali Borkar. Ultimately the judges declared Ritesh and Prateek the winners of the season.
Show judges Karisma Kapoor, Javed Jaffrey, Geeta Kapoor and Terence Lewis were present in the grand finale. Apart from this, Jackie Shroff, Tamannaah Bhatia and Siddharth Malhotra also became a part of this special occasion.
How much money did Ritesh get with the trophy?
Ritesh Pal has received a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh for becoming the winner of India's Best Dancer Season 5. That means, along with the trophy, he also got a total prize money of ₹ 15 lakh. Whereas, Anshika Dhara was the first runner-up and got Rs 3 lakh, while Prathamesh Mane was the second runner-up and he got the prize money of Rs 2 lakh.
What did Ritesh Pal and Prateek Utekar say after winning the trophy?
After the victory, Ritesh said that dancing has always been his passion and winning India's Best Dancer Season 5 is like a dream come true for him. He thanked the judges and especially his choreographer Prateek Utekar. Prateek Utekar also remembered Ritesh's hard work and his development and said that Ritesh trusted his vision and completely adopted his guidance. Together, both of them faced many challenges in the show and ultimately won the trophy.
The story of Ritesh Pal is also interesting because this 19 year old artist, who came from Raipur and reached the national stage of dance, made his mark by continuously learning and ultimately won the trophy of India's Best Dancer Season 5.