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Missy Elliott puts on a masterclass in choreography and costume changes at the 2019 VMAs

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Image for article titled Missy Elliott puts on a masterclass in choreography and costume changes at the 2019 VMAs
Photo: Noam Galai (Getty Images)

At tonight’s MTV Video Music Awards, Missy Elliott was presented with the Video Vanguard award, signifying her many, many contributions to the music world and pop culture in general. Before that, though, she got a chance to show everyone why she deserved that award in the first place with a ridiculous, elaborate, and all-around awesome medley of her biggest hits—and biggest music videos. In her acceptance speech at the end, Missy Elliott made a point to highlight the work of dancers, saying they’re more than just background decoration, and her performance was pretty much entirely dedicated to proving that dancers are pretty damn cool. Oh sure, Missy Elliott was there, flying through the sky, dancing as a scarecrow, and pulling off seemingly effortless and instantaneous costume changes, but it was her team of dancers that stepped up and did cool shit while she made that stuff happen. In conclusion: Missy Elliott is cool and dancers are also cool. You can see the whole seven-minute performance below.