Everything is beautiful at the ballet. And everything was extra-beautiful at the New York City Ballet Annual Luncheon, assuming one had a predilection for watching guys in tights sashay their stuff. After all, “Ballet is man–too!” (which was the event’s tagline), yet a masculine form of the word ballerina doesn’t even exist. Gynophobic ballet enthusiasts have long bemoaned the tutu set’s overall propensity for hogging the limelight. Alas, true gender parity is a long way off, even in the 21st century.

In order to combat this blistering inequality, at least for a day, the female-heavy audience at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center-including Sex and the City’s Candace Bushnell and 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl—were treated to a delectable lineup of male-only performances culled from George Baldachine’s timeless choreographies, followed by a panel discussion with NYCB master-in-chief Peter Martins and a few of his hunky ballerinas, followed by a tasty luncheon at the Theater’s Promenade. Yes, real food was served as well.