Though the Video Vanguard Award (later renamed the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award) has been handed out ever since the first V.M.A.s in 1984, it’s only been the centerpiece of the event for the past six ceremonies, with artists including Justin Timberlake, Rihanna and Kanye West performing a medley of career-spanning hits and giving a lengthy speech. Missy Elliott led a nearly chronological tour through her unique, groundbreaking visions, which have cut diagonally through hip-hop trends for more than 20 years. The set pieces and choreographed routines alluded to classic videos like “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” from 1997, “Get Ur Freak On” from 2001, “Work It” from 2002 and more. Her crew of dancers flipped and contorted — some were aerial — in a performance that was part Grace Jones, part Cirque du Soleil and all Missy. Alyson Stoner, the scene-stealing pigtailed preteen dancing in the “Work It” video, returned at age 26.