"[2] Author Nancy Reynolds described the ballet as "Balanchine's purest dance creations – a string of dancers, solos, ensembles, pas de deux – with muted emotional overtones and little virtuoso display.
"[4] The principal dancers of the original cast were:[4]: 176 In 1952, Balanchine choreographed Caracole to Mozart's Divertimento No.
[5] The cast featured Diana Adams, Melissa Hayden, Tanaquil Le Clercq, Maria Tallchief, Patricia Wilde, André Eglevsky, Nicholas Magallanes, Jerome Robbins and a corps de ballet of eight women.
[8] In 1956, Balanchine was to revive Caracole for a Mozart bicentenary celebration organised by Lincoln Kirstein, who also co-founded the New York City Ballet.
[2] However, Balanchine claimed that he and the dancers had forgotten the choreography of Caracole, so he substantially rechoreographed it,[1][2] again with one of the minuet removed.
[6] According to Joel Lobenthal's biography of Wilde, the solos remained the same as Caracole but other parts of the ballet were new choreography.
The principal dancers at the New York premiere were original cast members Adams, Hayden, Wilde, Bliss and Magallanes, as well as Yvonne Mounsey, Barbara Milberg and Jonathan Watts.
15 by the New York City Ballet, with a cast consisting of Tracy Bennett, Merrill Ashley, Maria Calegari, Susan Pilarre, Stephanie Saland, Marjorie Spohn, Victor Castelli and Robert Weiss.
[17] In 2021, for New York City Ballet's first virtual gala, held due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the finale of Divertimento No.
It was danced by Peck, Veyette, King, Applebaum, Scordato, Emilie Gerrity, Ashley Laracey and Unity Phelan.