act has been a success, as federal expenditures to
Medicare were reduced. However, the act had an im-
pact on people as well as dollars. Many physicians
were adversely affected by the change in payments to
providers, and there is a feeling that many people,
especially those with longer-term acute conditions,
might be left without the same access to care that
they may have once enjoyed, because the lower pay-
ments led to fewer physicians accepting Medicare
patients. Moreover, the addition of Medicare +
Choice made the system more complex, and many
advocates for the elderly feel that the system has be-
come too cumbersome for a great number of senior
citizens (beneficiaries of the program) to under-
stand—especially when coupled with Medicare Part D,
added in 2003.
Further Reading
Rivers, Patrick A., et al. “The Impact of the Balanced
Budget Act of 1997 Act on Medicare in the U.S.A:
The Fallout Continues.”International Journal of
Health Care Quality Assurance15, no. 6 (2002): 249-
254.
Tannenwald, Robert.“Implications of the Balanced
Budget Act of 1997 for the ‘Devolution Revolu-
tion.’”Publius28, no. 1 (Winter, 1998): 23-48.
U.S. Congressional Budget Office.Budgetar y Implica-
tions of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Washing-
ton, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office,
1997.
Jeffrey S. Ashley
See also Clinton, Bill; Conservatism in U.S. poli-
tics; Demographics of the United States; Gingrich,
Newt; Health care; Health care reform; Liberalism
in U.S. politics; Medicine; Social Security reform;
Welfare reform.
Ballet
Definition A classical, theatrical, narrative form of
dance
Ballet in the 1990’s was a blend of classical technique, tra-
ditional repertor y, and expanded concepts of dance, cre-
ativity, and innovation.
The 1990’s witnessed many historical milestones in
the world of ballet. Several of the major American
ballet companies celebrated anniversaries of years of
successful performance, participating in interna-
tional celebrations.The New York City Ballet Founded by George
Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein, the New York City
Ballet is the largest ballet company in the United
States. The company is committed to sustaining
Balanchine’s beliefs about ballet and its presentation.
In 1990, Peter Martins assumed full responsibility
for the company’s activities. In 1992, he established
the Diamond Project, which enabled choreogra-
phers to create new ballets while still adhering to the
dictates of classical ballet. In 1993, in commemora-
tion of the tenth anniversary of Balanchine’s death,
the company performed an entire season of Balan-
chine’s works in chronological order. The company
celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 1998. The entire
1998 winter and spring seasons were devoted to the
celebration, with the performance of more than one
hundred ballets.The San Francisco Ballet Formed in 1933 as a re-
gional company, the San Francisco Ballet achieved
national status at the beginning of the 1990’s. In
1991, the company performed in New York after a
twenty-six-year absence. This performance received
extraordinary praise for its purity and vitality. The
classical style of the dancers and the choreography
exhibited the influence of Balanchine on the com-
pany’s artistic director Helgi Tomasson, a former
lead dancer for Balanchine. The company returned
to dance in New York three more times during the
decade; performances were given in 1993, 1995, and- In May of 1995, the San Francisco Ballet was
the host for UNited We Dance, an event commemo-
rating the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the
United Nations Charter. The company staged three
major classical ballets during the 1990’s,The Sleeping
Beautyin 1990,Romeo and Julietin 1994, andGisellein
American Ballet Theatre The 1990’s was a period of
reaffirmation of the American Ballet Theatre’s dedi-
cation to maintaining its large and eclectic repertory
of ballets, including classical, early nineteenth cen-
tury, and contemporary. In 1990, upon the resigna-
tion of Mikhail Baryshnikov, Jane Hermann and Oli-
ver Smith became artistic directors and established a
program aimed at maintaining the company’s tradi-
tion, which had evolved under Lucia Chase and Oli-
ver Smith and had continued under Baryshnikov,The Nineties in America Ballet 77