Juliet Prowse, the annual co-host of the "Championship Ballroom Dancing" specials on PBS, finds the dancers endlessly and interestingly interesting.

A couple exhibiting their cabaret dancing skills comes twirling by, the woman with her legs spread wide apart as she's being spun over her partner's head.

"Oh," says Prowse. "Interesting."

Yes, says Prowse's co-host, former Latin dance champ Ron Montez. Interesting. And quite a departure from your classic dance moves.

As a TV special, "Championship Ballroom Dancing" (8 tonight on Channel 9) is, uh, interesting. And quite a departure from your classic wild-animal special on PBS.

Competitive ballroom dancing may seem an alternative-universe experience for most of the public, but "Championship Ballroom Dancing" regularly rings up a TV audience of 10 million.

Produced by Boston's WGBH-TV, the programs are among PBS' highest-rated entertainment specials, not far behind the "Three Tenors" extravaganzas. And the ballroom dancing phenomenon is growing.

The popular Australian film "Strictly Ballroom" helped. Another boost came a year ago, when ballroom dancing was awarded provisional status as an Olympic sport.

The waltz, tango, Viennese waltz, foxtrot and snappy quickstep are the pole vault, discus toss, javelin throw, high jump and shot put of the "international standard" competition -- usually without the grunts.

Then the dancers get muy caliente for the "international Latin" competition, with its cha-cha, rumba, samba, paso doble and jive routines.

Prowse and Montez are the Pat Summerall and John Madden of ballroom dancing, though there tends to be an annoying echo in their commentary.

Interesting, says Prowse. Yes, says Montez.

"Smooth as can be," Prowse observes during tonight's cabaret exhibition between the main competitions. "Yes," says Montez. "Very, very smooth."

Ballroom dancing isn't all double reverse spins, perfect promenade positions and loose feathers floating in the spotlights. Sometimes there are groin pulls and other injuries.

Montez notes in tonight's special that international standard specialist Victor Veyrasset is a gamer, recovering from a knee injury but "dancing as strongly as ever."

It's hard for a novice to tell, but the injuries may have something to do with the fact that six couples are out there at once, whipping their bodies around like bumper car drivers.

Montez sounds a bit relieved in telling us, "You'll notice they're not having any collisions with other couples."

Right away, that eliminates most of us from professional careers in ballroom dancing.

And there's little cha-cha- chance that the typical sports nut will ever rush home, park in front of PBS, crack a six-pack and hunker down for a night of competitive ballroom dancing.

Force two six packs on me, though, and I'll bet I could execute a paso doble that Juliet Prowse would find interesting.