Lydia Geiten was a ballet dancer and teacher, and one of the leading soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in the late 19th century. She graduated from the Moscow Theatre School in 1874 (class of Gustav Legat) and was then sent abroad to further develop her skills. From 1870 to 1893, she performed with the Bolshoi Ballet troupe. In 1882, she became the first performer in Russia to dance the role of Swanilda in “Coppélia”, and in 1887 she was the first to perform Kitri in the revived Moscow production of Marius Petipa’s “Don Quixote”. In 1883, despite reductions in the ballet troupe, she declined offers to move to St. Petersburg. In 1887, she toured in London (Covent Garden) and later performed in St. Petersburg and other cities. In 1893, she purchased and headed her own theatre in the amusement garden on Bolshaya Sadovaya Street in Moscow, where she appeared in ballet excerpts and divertissements. In 1897, she sold the theatre and ended her stage career. Afterwards, she taught at the Moscow Choreographic School. The Bakhrushin Theatre Museum collection includes photographs of Lydia Geiten in her stage roles and in everyday life.