Hello Angelica & Tiny Dancer,
Each level of dance steps in the syllabus will have progressively harder steps. You will need to master the bronze steps in order to progress to the silver steps since in many cases the bronze steps are needed in order to do the silver steps and so on. If you take private lessons your dance teacher will have the syllabus sheet for you to look at for the dance you are working on. This web site also shows the syllabus for some dances. Click on: Learn the Dances >> Click on the "Dance" you want >> Click on: View the entire "Dance" syllabus, under FEATURED STEPS. Under Tango, you will see: 13 bronze figures, 7 silver figures, and 7 gold figures for a total of 27 figures on the Tango syllabus.
Also, understand that the syllabus for a particular dance will vary from dance studio to studio. And the syllabus for the International style of a dance is much different from the Syllabus for the American style of that dance.
Yes, the studios will vary in their methods of presenting the material. Some use extra levels prior to bronze such as: basic, social, intermediate, and some do not. Some will divide bronze into 2 levels, bronze 1 & bronze 2, and some will not. This is just the way things are. As you practice and gain experience those differences in teaching style among the various studios and teachers will become less of an issue for you.
Regards,
DancinChicagoGuy